EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT ACCELERATED READER!

How do I know if a book is AR? In the Media Center, look for the orange dot on the spine and look in the upper right hand corner of the 1st page for a white label with AR information. But remember, librarians make mistakes, too. To be absolutely sure, log on to AR and check the list. How many AR tests does Hightower Trail have? Do you have the same tests that my elementary school had? Each school has its own test bank. Currently, HTMS has over 7,000 tests! This includes nonfiction and biography as well as fiction. Where can I find a list of Hightower’s AR tests? In the AR program itself or on Hightower’s web site. Does the Destiny catalog have any AR information? Yes, the AR information for many books is included in the details. (Don’t forget that you can get Destiny at home! Click on the Cobb Virtual Library link on Hightower’s web page.) What do students get for accumulating points? We don’t use points for prizes at Hightower Trail. Your AR tests are a part of your Language Arts grade, and each 6th and 7th-grade teacher requires a certain number of tests each 9 weeks. Sometimes, they’ll ask you to read a specific type of book, such as a mystery or historical fiction book. Is there a test for every book in the Media Center? No, and we don’t have a book for every test, either. Unfortunately, it’s not a 100% match. Where else can I get AR books? Use your public library. You can go to www.cobbcat.org and search for books. If the titles are at another branch, they will send them to your local branch. You just need a library card and pin # to request a book. (Everyone has a library card, right?) Of course, you can buy books at Hightower’s Book Fairs or from bookstores. Don’t forget the used bookstores in the area! Also, many HTMS students borrow books from their friends. Can I request specific books from the Media Center? Yes!! Mrs. Sheridan, our media specialist, wants to get books that students want to read. Come to the Media Center and fill out one of the “I Wish We Had” forms and put it in the basket. We will do our best to get any middle-school appropriate books. If you don’t have the AR test for a book I want to read, what can I do? Go talk to Mrs. Sheridan and see if she can get the test for you. Once she has 20 titles, she can submit an order. All reasonable requests will be honored. When a new book comes out, how soon can you get the AR test? We purchase our AR tests from a company called Renaissance Learning. They will usually create the AR

test for new, popular books within a month after publication. Mrs. Sheridan always has her eye out for those! How often are AR tests added? Whenever a new book order comes in, Mrs. Sheridan orders AR tests for all the books that have a test. She also orders tests several times throughout the year when students request them. The funds come from our Book Fair profits. There’s a book that I really want to read, and there is no AR test for it! What can I do? Talk to your teacher about options. Maybe he or she will let you write a short report in place of an AR test.